• Croatia switched to the euro on 1 Jan 2023 from its previous currency the kuna
• Exclusive FXC Intelligence data shows that prices have already reduced by almost a third for residents receiving money transfers in the country
• Expect prices to remain lower than they were before Croatia joined the euro

On 1 January 2023, Croatia became the twentieth country to join the euro, and one area the country is already seeing benefits is in money transfers. FXC Intelligence data published today shows money transfers and remittances sent to the country are on average cheaper than they were when the country used its previous currency the kuna, also known by its currency code HRK.

Our research suggests that average send prices are likely to be cheaper post-January 1 no matter where in the world the sender is, but by how much will depend on where the sender is and, crucially, what currency they use.

According to FXC Intelligence market sizing data, Croatia received remittances totalling $6.7bn in 2022, with Germany being the biggest source of money transfers to the country, followed by Serbia and Australia. However 55% of money sent to Croatia in 2022 was sent to people in countries that already use the euro, and for these senders the cost savings are likely to be the greatest.

Euro-to-euro remittances do not require a currency conversion, meaning the FX margin typically charged as part of a money transfer between two currencies is not present. In addition, EU regulations require financial charges to be the same for cross-border transactions in the eurozone as domestically. As a result, euro-to-euro remittances are far cheaper than those across two different currencies, and can be virtually free to send. This will therefore make a dramatic difference to the cost of sending remittances to Croatia for 55% of regular senders globally.

However, for the remaining 45% who send money transfers to Croatia from non-euro countries, the cost is also dropping. Providers monitored by FXC Intelligence are already averaging lower charges to send to Croatia using euros than they were using HRK prior to 1 January, with money transfers to Croatia currently averaging 29% cheaper than prior to the switch.

In addition, our pricing data shows that sending HRK was consistently more expensive across a wide range of providers in 2022 than sending euro – with euro being an average of 24% cheaper across the year.

“Our pricing data shows that money transfers are cheaper to send to Croatia than they were before it joined the euro – with prices in some cases dropping by as much as a third,” explains Lucy Ingham, Head of Content at FXC Intelligence. “Joining the euro brings a number of economic benefits for countries, but money transfers should not be overlooked given the amounts involved.”